On the one hand, what's been revealed is reprehensible — though the cynic in me is not at all surprised. On the other hand, Snowden is an egocentric, book deal-seeking, self-important chicken-sh¡t who should have had the balls to man up to the consequences here in the U.S.

As despicable as these revelations are, this tool broke the f'n law, and to run away from the repercussions is no better than the gov't acting without impunity.

IMHO, it only confirms what I've just assumed for a long time. Do I like it? No. Do I fear it? No again. Because after all is said and done, it is a/b the bad guys.

Unfortunately, the definition of who is a "bad guy" can easily change to suit the needs of whoever is in power at the moment. The trouble with all of this technology married with the authority to use it with pretty much zero transparency is that it puts in place the means by which an Executive so inclined could unilaterally change the very nature of our democracy. A case can be made that this is already happening.

It again comes down to: how many of our freedoms are we willing to sacrifice in the name of protecting our freedom?

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